All's Fair in Love and War
by MushLover92
Summary: So, this is my first fanfic. Spot stealing girls from Mush while he' still healing from a past relationship. Should be some good drama. But go easy on me.
1. Chapter 1

Mush had been looking around the newsie lodging house for the past half hour. He wanted to find his best hat for his date tonight, but he thought one of the other boys must have borrowed it, since it was nowhere to be found. He went back into the newsies bunkroom.

"Heya Cowboy! Waddya do wit me new hat? I wanna wear it tonight."

Jack and Crutchy walked into the room. "I dunno where your stinking hat is, Mush. Ask Race."

"Hey Race!"

"Yeah?" Race followed the sound of Mush's voice into the bunkroom.

"Where's me hat?" Mush asked, really frustrated now.

"Oh, I borrowed it fah a date I had last night. Here ya go lover boy." Race threw the hat at Mush's head. Mush caught it, scowling. That was a waste of a half hour.

Race continued to stare at Mush.

"What?" Mush asked, quite frustrated now.

"Well, it's just………. I nevah seen ya hang onto a goil this long since………….well ya know."

Mush sighed. "Yeah I know. But this ones different. She wont hurt me like the last one. Anyway, Ive been wit her for 3 months. I think Laura actually might ya know……….love me. And I might………..love her."

Race and Jack burst out laughing. "That sounded so rich comin from you, Mush. Mush, the ladies man of ladies men, has finally found a goil he thinks that loves him and he loves! Why don't you two just get married lover?" Race sneered, throwing a pillow at Mush's head.

"Oh shut up Race." Mush was not gonnna get into it with these two. "If I love her, I'm allowed to say it and remain wit her for the rest of my life. Maybe."

Race's and Jack's laughs were still ringing in Mush's ears as he walked out the door.

As Mush walked into the cool night air tons of memories came flooding back to him. He thought about Cassandra, and how she had hurt him by first sleeping with then running off with his former best friend, Racetrack. How it had taken him forever to get over her. And that's why he was trying to stay with girls for longer then one night. He didn't want anyone to be hurt the way he was hurt. Mush didn't think anyone should have to go through that. But that was 2 years ago. Mush tried to put all those negative thoughts into the back of his head so it wouldn't ruin his date with Laura.

Mush's foot hit something hard. "Shit!" he exclaimed. He looked up from the ground and found that his thinking had led him right to Laura's doorstep. He rang the doorbell and stood back to wait.

Inside Laura's house, there was a tiny battle going on. A battle between a sister and her brother.

Laura screamed, "Give me my shoe so I can go Seth!"

Seth just laughed. "Why do you want it so bad? Your boyfriend won't even be able to see it. I mean, I am assuming he's blind, since he is going out with you."

Laura looked like she was about to explode. She tried talking calmly to Seth. "Please Seth, just hand my shoe over and I will leave you here all by your lonesome self for three whole hours."

That did the trick. Seth was a sucker when it came to getting the house to himself. "Okay little sis. Just get out of here and make sure your back by 11."

"Shut up Seth! You are so NOT my father."

Seth replied without a trace of a smile. "Well, someone has to be."

Laura shrugged. "I'll see you later Seth." She went to open the door. It creaked open slowly. God, they had to get those hinges fixed. They sounded like they were living in a haunted house.

Mush smiled when he saw Laura. "Laura dahling, you look be-u-tiful tonight."

"Thanks, Mush. But cut the crap. We both know that you're no gentleman. And that I'm no lady."

"Yes Laura my dear, but sometimes, it is fun to pretend."

And with that, he took her arm, and they strolled into the cool September evening.

Mush steered Laura into Medda's place. He turned to look at her as they entered the doorway and saw her look of apprehension. He leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her lips to calm her. "Don't worry baby, everything will be fine." Mush said in a soothing voice.

Laura just nodded.

Mush led her into a back room where most of the guys were sitting. Even though he had been

dating Laura for 3 months, he had been reluctant to let her meet the other newsboys. He was afraid what impression his friends might leave on her, and if she would ever talk to him again. But he figured that they would have to meet sometime, so it might as well be sooner rather then later.

"Okay Laura, this is Jack, David, Specs, Dutchy, Blink, Crutchy, Boots, and Spot. He's from Brooklyn, but he hangs out with us sometimes cause were just that cool."

Laura smiled weakly. "Hey guys." She waved. There was a chorus of "heys" from around the room.

"Wow, Mush. She's even better looking then the last one. Where do you find these goils?" Spot snickered.

"Shut up Spot, before I make you shut up." Mush took Laura's hand and led her away from the guys. "Do ya wanna stay any longer? Cause we can go now if you wanna."

"Without even dancing first? C'mon Mush. You owe me at least one dance."

Mush smiled. "Whateva ya say, dahling." He let her lead him onto the dance floor.

But unknown to Laura or Mush, someone was watching them. Someone who thought Laura was very good looking indeed. Someone who wanted Laura all to themself.


	2. Chapter 2

As Mush and Laura left Medda's place, Spot turned to talk to his best friend sitting on the couch next to him, Nessa. "Whaddya tink of dat goil?" Spot asked her, without taking his eyes off Laura.

"She's okay, I guess." Nessa replied.

Spot turned to look at her. "C'mon Stacy, ya gotta give me more dan dat. I wanna know if I should go afta her."

"Spot! How can you even think of that! She's goin out with Mush! He's your friend!"

"Yah, but all's faih in love and war, and when I see sometin I like, I go afta it."

"Spot, you are a grade A asshole." Nessa turned to get up and leave.

"C'mon Straw (her nickname, she loves strawberries), ya know that I'm not tryin to hurt anyone's feelings. I just know what I want."

"Which is obviously not me as a friend, since I'm not speaking to you again unless you promise not to steal Laura from Mush." Stacy replied in a huff.

"C'mon doll, ya cant seriously mean that."

"Yes, I seriously can." And with that, she turned on her heel and strode right out of Medda's place, leaving a confused Spot behind her.

"Women," He sighed "I didn't even say more den ten words to her tahnight and she's already mad at me." Then he got up to follow her, knowing that if he didn't make things right, someone would be after his behind. And he didn't want to lose that, as it was one of the best parts of his body.

"C'mon Straw, you know I can't run that fast," Nessa slowed down to a fast walk to allow Spot to catch up to her, even though she was still mad at him. She felt sort of bad for chewing him out a second ago, but not really.

"Dat's better," he said, wiping his brow. "Now c'mon straw, I'm sorry for wat I said 'bout Laura. Your right, she is Mush's goil and I shouldn't go afta her."

Nessa smiled. "Thanks for saying that Spot. Now will you walk me home? I'm a little scared."

"Sure thing doll." Spot took her arm and they began to walk back in the direction of her house, Nessa smiling contentedly and Spot smirking cause he knew that there was no way a little thing like Laura having a boyfriend was gonna keep him from getting to her.

Laura and Mush reached her front door. "Thanks for walking me home, Mush. I had a great time." She leaned in and gave him a soft goodbye kiss. He cupped her face but she pulled back knowing that if they got into a full make out session on her front stoop, her brother would kill her. "Sorry Mush, you're not getting any tonight."

"Oh, I'm so disappointed." He smiled. "I'll see ya tomorrow, doll."

"'Night Mush."

"'Night." Laura closed the door and watched Mush disappear through the window. Then she turned around to walk up the stairs. As she was reaching the third step, she heard a soft knock on the door she'd just closed. Slighty annoyed that Mush wouldn't leave her alone, she went to answer it to tell him to get his butt away from her house, just to make him mad. She started to open the door. "Mush, I said goodnigh……..oh." It wasn't Mush on her front step. It was that newsie from Brooklyn, Spot Conlon. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else. Umm… what exactly are you doing here?"

Spot chuckled. "Can't a guy come see his friends goil without bad intentions?"

Laura didn't smile back. "Uhhhhhhh……………..no."

Spot laughed. "Your right. But I'm just here to make sure your not gonna be like the last goil he had."

"You make girls sound like pieces of meat. Mush doesn't have me. We're going out. And I would really like to get to bed, you know. Its quite late."

"Would ya mind if I came wit you?" Spot smirked.

"Uh kinda. Could you please leave? I'm not interested."

Spot came up right to her face so that they were nose to nose. She thought he was about to kiss her, in which case she would have smacked him, but all he did was whisper in her ear, "Don't worry. You soon will be interested." Then he turned and strolled off into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Mush reached the newsie lodging house and walked inside. Jack, Crutchy, and Boots, and Kid Blink were wating for him.

"So how'd the rest of yah date go Mush? Ya get any?" Jack asked. The other boys cracked up.

"Shut up Jack. Yah know Laura's not like dat."

"Well I just though wit Spot eyeing yah goil yah might step it up a bit." Jack added with a satisfied smirk.

"What? Spot was eyeing Laura? How do you know? Whadda he say?" Mush practically screamed. This was NOT going to happen to him again. Not again.

"Chill out lovah boy, I was just saying he seemed to tink she was good looking dats all. And ya know Spot. He'll probably move on to someone else in like half a day. And besides, she seems taken wit you." Jack added a little swoon for affect.

"Ya well if you see Spot before I do, you tell him to stay away from my goil." Mush huffed.

"Will do." The newsie boys replied in unsion. And seeing that the conversation was over, they all laid down to get some much needed sleep.

Laura woke up to the soft tapping at her door. "God, if it is that Spot Conlon again, I will seriously hurt him." But she ran to get the door anyway, surprising herself. "Its just cause I want it to be Mush; that's all." She reassured herself. Even though when Spot had spoken in her ear last night it had sent chills all the way down her spine. Even though she couldn't get him out of her head. "I'm just confused, that's all. I want it to be Mush. I want it to be Mush." She said this over and over to herself, untill finally, she sort of believed it. And that was good enough for her. She threw open the door and plastered a big smile on her face. And there was Mush with a huge bouquet of flowers in his hands. Sweet, reliable, Mush. How could she have even thought about Spot at all when she had Mush? She pushed this thought to the front of her brain, and all thoughts of Spot to the back. "Mush!" she cried, and threw herself into his arms. "I'm so happy to see you! But why did you bring me these?"

"To let you know that you're my goil and I do nice stuff fah you cause I love yah." He said with his eyes to the ground.

"Oh, Mush, that's so sweet!" Laura instantly felt guilty about Spot, but tried really hard not to think about him at all.

He smiled. "Yeah, well, you're a sweet goil." He leaned in and kissed her affectionly. "So how about we take a walk in the park today? Just cause its so nice."

"Mush, you are so nice. A walk in the park sounds perfect. Just let me get my shoes." She closed the door behind him, and ran upstairs into her room. As she was searching for her shoes, her thoughts strayed to her last boyfriend, Tom. They had had such a wonderful relationship, just like her and Mush. But then she met Race. She and Race started to go out secretly behind Tom's back, because she just couldn't bring herself to hurt Tom's feelings. She wasn't a lying bitch, she just thought she loved Tom, but once she met Race, she knew Tom wasn't for her. Tom was so safe and gentle, and she loved that about him. But she had wanted action. And Race's middle name was action. Finally, unable to take anymore of the lying, she confessed to Tom and they broke up. But then Race left her for another girl, some girl named………oh yeah, some girl named Cassandra. But those boys were in her past now. Even though Tom sort of reminded her of Mush, and Race sort of reminded her of……………..oh hell. He reminded her of Spot.

Mush and Laura began their walk around the park near Laura's house. Laura continued to fight the internal battle inside her head if she should tell Mush about Tom and Race or not, as Mush went on about some new person he had met selling papers that day. "And the guys says to me….

"Mush?"

"Uh, yeah Laura?"

"Can I tell you something about me, and do you promise not to hold it against me, cause I swear that isn't me anymore?"

"I mean, I guess."

So Laura told Mush her story, and when she got to the part of Race leaving her for another girl, she heard a sharp intake of breath beside her. "What is it, Mush?" she asked.

"Let me guess. The girl he left you for was named Cassandra."

"How the hell did you know that?"

"Jesus." Was all Mush said.

"Mush? How did you know her name?" Laura asked again with some urgency now.

"Cause she was my girl, and Race stole her from me."

"Jesus." Laura replied. "Mush, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, but if that had never happened, I never would've found you. And I'm pretty sure you won't do to me what you did to Tom."

"Never, Mush. Never. I've changed. I know what I want now." An image of Spot's face floated through her mind, but she quickly pushed it away.

"Me too, Laura. Me too. I love you."

"I love you too, Mush." Laura answered, but she couldn't bring herself to look Mush in the eye, cause she wasn't sure if she actually meant it.


	4. Chapter 4

Nessa sat at her desk, silently reading a new book she found sitting on the street that day. It was a romance novel. Nessa loved romance novels, but she couldn't read them normally cause Spot thought they were for losers, and she didn't want him to think she was a loser. "God! Why do I even care what he thinks? He is so stupid." She thought to herself. But deep down inside she knew that she really cared what Spot thought and she was just going to have to deal with it. She heard the doorbell ring. "Spot!" she shrieked silently. "Wait, it might not be Spot. Why did I immediately think it would be him? I'm so stupid and desperate! God I need to stop talking to myself!" Her crazy yelling had led her to the door. She opened it, and smiled when she saw who it was. "Spot! What brings you here?"

"Shut up, Straw. You know why I'm here."

"Why, I don't think I do."

"Cause I come here every Saturday and we get burgers at the Tibby's."

"Oh, really? I don't recall ever doing that with you."

"Shut up Straw, and lets go."

"Kay, let me get my jacket." She ran inside really quickly, then ran outside just as quick to meet Spot.

"Don't you need to tell your dad that your going?"

"He's not here. He's never here. You know that."

"Right, he's a drunk?"

"No Spot! I told you this a long time ago. He just works hard, okay?"

"Okay, Straw. Didn't mean to offend you."

"It's fine Spot. Can we just go?"

"Sure."

They started walking in uncomfortable silence until Nessa couldn't take it anymore. "So Spot, you've stopped trying to go after Mush's girl, right? Cause I just assumed you were being stupid before."

"You could say that."

"You've stopped?" Nessa was actually very surprised. I mean, who wouldn't be?

"Well, let's just say she's not giving in as easily as I thought she would."

"Spot! You're kidding! You haven't just given up? You can't have her Spot! She's going out with Mush! I thought we went over all of this!"

"Yeah, we might have. But I just don't care. But don't worry about it Straw. It's not your problem."

"It is too my problem! I care about you and I don't want you to screw up your relationship with Mush!"

"Straw, you seriously care about me?" Spot batted his eyelashes in an adorably cute way.

"Don't flatter yourself Spot. But yeah, you're my best friend, of course I care about you."

"So you wouldn't appreciate it if I still went after Mush's girl."

"Well, Spot, I obviously can't stop you from doing anything you want to do, but I think you should stop. It's not fair to Mush, it's not fair to Laura, and its not fair to me." Oops. That last part just sort of slipped out. Spot stopped.

"What do you mean, it's not fair to you?" Spot said, with a slight smile.

"Forget it."

"C'mon, I know what this means. You like me dontcha?" He had a full watt grin on now.

"Damn it Spot! You're so full of yourself! Why do you think every girl in the world has to be in love with you! I don't even know why I deal with this. I'm going home."

"Straw, c'mon, don't do this again." He turned around to follow her and stepped in front of her to stop her from walking any farther.

"Get out of my face Spot." She went around him, and left him with no trace of a smirk.

He watched her walk away. "Damn it! Why does this girl keep running away from me?" Then he turned around to walk back to Brooklyn.

Laura sat in her house the rest of that day. She was thinking. About Spot, Mush, Race, and Tom, and how they all seemed to be connected somehow. It kinda gave her the chills. She really didn't want to hurt Mush. She loved him. But Spot kept messing with her head. Maybe she should just give him a chance? Just a little date, a secret date, just to prove to herself that Mush was for her. She went downstairs to ask her brother if he thought this was a good idea, against her better judgement.

"Seth?" she called.

"Yup Laura?"

"You know how've I've been going out with Mush for a long time?" She sat down at the kitchen table where he was eating a sandwich contentedly.

"Yup."

"Well, do you think it's a bad idea if I just see what its like to go out with another guy? Just to prove I'm in love with Mush?"

"Uh, yeah Laura, that would be a bad idea."

"Great. Now I know that it's a fantastic idea," not realizing that that might have been the only sincere advice Seth had ever given her.

She lept to the front door, intent on finding Spot to tell him that she wanted to go out with him, just for one night. But when she opened the door, she found that that wasn't necessary.

"So, you ready to go out with me yet?"

Laura beamed. "Just as long as it's a secret."

"I love secrets."

"Then yes."

"Why don't we go to this little bar I know near my place? Its very secluded. No one will see us there."

"Sure thing."

Spot wrapped his arm around Laura's shoulders and they began to walk towards this secluded bar.

"Excellent," Spot said smugly.

Laura sat while Spot made jokes with his friends all around the bar. As soon as they had come in, Spot had sat her down on a barstool with his arm around her, and she had yet to move since. Spot on the other hand, had managed to talk to everyone he knew there, still staying in the same spot (no pun intended) and still with his arm around Laura's shoulders.

"So what do ya think of this place?" Spot asked.

"Its…….nice," Laura answered. Even though it was the opposite of nice.

"And the best part is, little Mushie doesn't know about it." Spot laughed.

"Yeah, I guess that's true."

"Laura, I know you might feel a little out of place here. So if you want, we can go back to my place for a bit."

"That sounds great," Laura answered. She turned towards Spot, and he planted a kiss on her lips. She sighed and deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around Spots neck as he moved his arms to her waist. Suddenly, she heard something that pulled her out of the kiss. She had heard her name. "Laura?" she heard it again. In a soft voice, just like……….. She turned to look at the speaker.

_Oh_ shit.


	5. Chapter 5

Laura sat on her bed with her head in her hands. Out of all the nights of her life, this had to be the worst. Even worse then the night she found out that her mom had died. Even worse then when Race told her that he didn't want to see her anymore. Obviously worse then when she had to tell Tom she didn't love him; they both knew that their relationship was going nowhere. It had all started with her being so stupid. Stupid enough to go out with Spot. Stupid enough to think that someone wouldn't see them and tell Mush. Stupid enough to think that Mush wouldn't see them. Laura replayed the exact moment when her life came crashing down around her over and over again in her head, and each time it became worse and worse.

"Laura?"

Laura unattached herself to look into the speaker's eyes. Mush. His eyes looked so confused and astonished, but they quickly turned to anger, so much so that she thought she might have imagined the confused look.

"Mush! I can explain……….." Laura trailed off, knowing that there was nothing to explain.  
"Laura, I can't believe you would do this to me. We're obviously over. I never want to look at you again." Mush turned and strode out of the bar that moments ago Laura thought was so secluded.

"Mush, wait!" Laura tried to jump up and follow him, but something held her down. She looked down and noticed Spot's arm still wrapped around her waist. "Let go of me Spot!" she screamed. "I have to go after Mush!" she struggled against his grip, but he stayed firm.

"No way, Laura. I'm not letting you go out there when Mush is still all angry. He might hurt you."

"Mush wouldn't do that!" Laura cried.

"Laura, you have no idea what Mush would or wouldn't do right now. You haven't just seen your girlfriend in someone else's arms. You don't know at all."

"Spot shut up! This is all your fault! How dare you not let me go after him! You're the arms that I'm in! This is just so stupid……….." Laura trailed off, realizing she wasn't making any sense at all.

"Laura, I know its partially my fault Mush is so upset, but I couldn't help myself. Yeah, I'm a big jerk, but what else is new? This is mostly your fault, and you know it."  
Those final words continued to play in Laura's head as she walked home, finally struggling free of Spot after she promised not to go after Mush. They still continued to play in her head as she sat on her bed. "This is mostly your fault, and you know it." First in Spot's voice, then in Mush's, then in Race's, then in Tom's, then finally, in her own. She then finally knew it was entirely her fault.

"Oh God. What have I done?" Laura continued to sit on her bed, crying herself to sleep.

Mush sat in almost the same exact position as Laura, but on his own bed, with the other newsboys standing around him. He thought to himself, how could I have let this happen to me again? Then he knew it wasn't all Laura's fault. There is that old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." And Mush knew that some of the shame was on him. He had let another girl break his heart. Again. He obviously just failed at life. "I fail at life." He said out loud.

"No, man, you totally don't fail at life," Jack sighed. He knew that they had gotten to the self hating part of the breaking up process, and he wasn't going to let Mush go through this again. "Mush, you are possibly the coolest, nicest, most awesome guy I know. You just happen to have really bad taste in girls. And kinda sucky friends."

"You guys don't suck." Mush answered glumly."

"Sure we do Mush. You just forget about our suckiness cause we have fun together. We still kinda suck. You think we didn't all notice how hot Laura is? You think we didn't all kinda wanna date her? Well you are mistaken my pal. We're just not sucky enough to go behind your back and steal her."

"Okay, you are kinda sucky. But so I am. I let someone cheat on me again. I'm so dumb!" Mush threw his hat at the wall in frustration.

"Mush, you are not dumb at all. Laura's the dumb one for not realizing how great you are enough to not cheat on you," Daivd. Always the sensible one. But Mush wasn't in the mood for sense. He was in the mood for self pity. And he just wanted to be left alone.

"Can you guys just leave me alone for awhile? I just wanna go to sleep."

"Sure thing Mush." Jack said.

"Night guys."

"Night Mush."

Mush stayed awake for a long time, just thinking in the darkness. Then finally, when the sun was just beginning to creep over the horizon, he was shoved awake, well as much as he could have been, since he had never actually gone to sleep.

Nessa waited in front of her door for Spot. She had forgiven him once more last night when he had shown up at her door. He had looked so stressed, she decided she didn't care about the Laura thing any more. She knew Spot wouldn't do anything too stupid, like let Mush find out, so she decided that it wasn't her business. He had also said last night that he had something very important to tell her, but he could only talk for a second so he would have to tell her tomorrow. She thought that maybe, finally, he was going to tell her that he had feelings for her as more then a friend, and that he had given up on Laura. She was wringing her hands, so nervous that she was afraid once Spot got there she wouldn't even be able to speak. As she saw him coming around the corner, she fought back the urge to jump up and shout his name. She knew that would be too weird.

"Hey Straw," Spot drawled, as he reached her doorstep. "What's going on?"

"Nothin really. Just waiting for you. So what was so important that you just had to tell me?"

"Oh right."

Nessa sat calmly, though on the inside she was freaking out.

"I kinda………went out with Laura last night. And we kissed. And Mush saw."

"What?" Nessa was dumbfounded. This was not what she had expected at all. "Are you kidding me? How could you be so stupid?"

"Hey! Chill out. She was the one who agreed to go with me," Spot said defensively.

"Yes, but Spot, you can be very persuasive sometimes, and you know it."

"Well I am very good looking if that's what you mean."

"Yes Spot, that's exactly what I mean," Nessa said sarcastically.

"What do you want me to do about it Nessa?"

Nessa knew he was mad then. He only used her real name when he was really pissed off. But she wasn't going to back down. She hadn't done anything wrong. She stood up so she was face to face with Spot.

"I want you to stop being such a damn idiot Spot! I want to stop being so smug and thinking your better then everybody else! I want you to stop going after girls that already have boyfriends! I want you to stop thinking that you are god's gift to women! And I want you to stop being so damned irresistible so that you could take two seconds of your time to notice me!" Oops. Slippage once more. Nessa turned away to walk into her house, knowing that Spot would never let her live this down. If she decided to remain friends with him, which she wanst sure she would.

"What the hell, Straw?"

"Shut up Spot, you know what I said. Just deal with it."

"Straw, I'm sorry, but even if you like me like that, I just don't like you that way. We're just friends."

"Yeah, sure. I've heard this enough times. I get it. Just leave me alone and go back to stealing every girl in the whole damn city. See if I care." She turned around and walked back into her house.

"Jesus. Why do our conversations lately keep ending like this?" Spot said to himself.

Nessa overheard him, still being in the hallway. She leaned out the window and said, "Cause you keep acting like a damned idiot, Spot."

He turned around at the sound of her voice, and started to make his way toward the window. Before he could say anything, she slammed it in his face.

Mush walked down the stairs, not wanting to face the day on no sleep, but he knew he had to. Things were over with Laura, and he was just going to have to face it. Maybe he should go back to dating a different girl each night. But he just wasn't sure that that was the best idea. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed that all the other newsboys had already left. He then heard a slight tapping at the door, and figured it was one of the newsboys coming back to make sure he was alright. He went up to the door and threw it open.

"Mush?"

No way. No fucking way.


	6. Chapter 6

"Cassandra?"

Mush could not believe it. "What the fuck was she doing here? How dare she!" Mush thought. "Wow, I sound like a girl. Maybe I should say this stuff out loud. It might be more affective."

"Mush! Omigod it's so great to see you!" Cassandra leaned in for a hug.

"Cassandra! What do you think you're doing? I made it perfectly clear that I never wanted to see you again after what you did to me. And now you're just showing up here wanting to hug me?"

Cassandra's lower lip started to quiver. It always did that when she was about to cry. It was one of the things Mush loved about her, that unlike most other girls, she had a warning signal, and didn't just cry out of the blue. Shit. He should stop thinking about her lips.

"Crap. Race broke up with you didn't he?"

Cassandra burst into tears. "After two years Mush! Two years he just breaks up with me! He said that he stills loves one of his ex girlfriends! What the heck could that mean? Two years!"

All that Cassandra had just said added up in Mush's mind. For the second time in fifteen minutes only one thought went through his head.

_No_ way. _No_ fucking way.

"Cassandra, do you realize what this means? Race still loves Laura and I love Laura and Spot loves Laura and………….

"I love you."

"What, Cassandra? No you don't. You were just all crying over Race. You love him, even though he was never right for you."

"I know that now Mush. I know now that you were right for me all along. I love _you._"

"Cassandra! I can't listen to this! There is no way that I could ever trust you again even if you did love me! So stop saying that you love me and let me think! I have to get Laura back! Even though I am wicked pissed off at her and two other guys that I thought were my friends are in love with her, I still love her! And I always will!"

"But Mush, I love you."

"So?"

"So you have to take me back."

"What the fuck, Cassandra?"

"Its me Mush, you have to take me back. Who wouldn't take me back?"

"You're kidding right? Please tell me you're kidding. Cause I would never have gone out with someone so bitchy and full of herself."

"C'mon, Mush, you know you love me." Cassandra tried to put her arm around Mush's waist, but he backed up into the boarding house.

"That's it Cassandra. You are possibly the stupidest girl I know. Cheating on me then expecting me to take you back. That's it. I'm not gonna be the softie anymore. I'm gonna let Laura explain to me what happened, and if it makes any sense at all I'm gonna get back together with her. So just leave me the fuck alone."

He slammed the door in her face and walked upstairs, even though he knew that he had to go outside and sell his papers.

* * *

Laura was still in the same position on her bed when she heard the bedroom door open. "Go away, Seth. I don't want to talk about it." Still, the steps came closer, and finally the person sat down on her bed. "Seth, I said………" Laura stopped midsentence because when she looked up she saw her father, not Seth. "Hi dad," Laura said sheepishly.

"Laura. Its been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Only three weeks, two days, and sixteen hours," Laura replied.

"Wow, that long? I forgot you have the best memory for time and how much has passed."

"It's my special gift," Laura sighed.

"What happened, Laura?" Her dad asked her in the calmest of voices.

Laura opened her mouth, intending to tell him the same thing that she had told Seth, that it wasn't any of his business, but instead she found herself spilling the whole awful story.

When she had finished, her father just sat there with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally after one minute, but one minute which had felt like a lifetime for Laura, he spoke.

"Seems like you're at it again Laura," he sighed.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"First Tom and Race, now Mush and this Spot fellow. So let me ask you one question Laura. Why do you do this? Why must you keep proving to your boyfriends that you love them by going out with other guys? Why can't you stay committed?"

"I guess it's just my personality. I seek reassurance. I have to know for sure that I'm not making a mistake about my boyfriend, but then I end up making a mistake when they find me cheating on them. I just can't stay still. I love the wild times that some guys bring, but I can't handle the fact that those same wild guys don't want to remain my boyfriend for too long. I seek a combination of those two types of guys. A Mush and a Spot. A Tom and a Race. But I just can't choose."

"Well, Laura, there's your problem. Life is about choices. Sometimes you make the wrong ones. I did. I chose my job over my wife and kids. That was a wrong choice. But sometimes you have to make the wrong choice before you can figure out what the right choice is. And the guy that is right for you will understand that. Tom wasn't right for you because he didn't understand that you made the wrong choice about Race. Maybe Mush will understand. Then you'll know he's the right choice."

"Thanks, dad. I love you."

"I love you too, Laura." They shared a sweet father daughter hug, and then he stood up and was gone.

Laura raced down the stairs to see if Seth knew where their father had to go in such a hurry. "Seth? Where is dad going?"

"Umm, he said he has to go back to work, but he'll be home in a couple of hours."

It seemed that in making the wrong choice, her dad had found out what the right choice was, too. Laura smiled to herself, but what Seth said next made her smile inside and out.

"He also said that there is some guy waiting at the door, but he wouldn't say who."

"Mush!" Laura cried. She was so excited to see him and explain everything. She wanted things to be okay between them. And she knew that if he forgave her that he was the right choice and that she would never have to prove it again. So right at this moment, she knew things couldn't get any worse.

Then she opened the door.

"Hey Laura."

Never mind. Things had just gotten worse. Things had just gotten a lost worst.

* * *

Nessa sat with her head in her hands. It was sort of a trend going around, sitting with your head in your hands. Nessa imagined that Laura must have sat this way after Mush saw her, and that Mush must have sat this way after he saw Laura, and that maybe Spot was sitting this way now, too. "Ha," Nessa laughed half heartedly. No way was the mighty Spot Conlon sitting with his head in his hands, sulking about a girl he didn't even like. "He liked me as a friend," Nessa thought. "Nothing more, but at least a friend. Now he doesn't like me at all." Nessa felt so stupid for being mad at Spot, but on the other hand she wanted to be defiant. Spot had been a big jerk, but she still couldn't keep her heart from soaring every time she heard someone knock on the door. But it was never him. And it would never be him. Nessa just had to face the facts and get on with her life. She kept telling herself this over and over again, but she wasn't sure she was at all closer to making it happen.

* * *

Turns out that the mighty Spot Conlon did happen to be sitting with his head in his hands, but not because he was crying over Nessa, as she might have wished. It was just that sitting like this helped cool his head off, and that was just what he needed to do right now. Nessa had said some pretty mean things to him back at her house, and he laughed in spite of himself because he knew that they were all true. He was an idiot, but it wasn't his fault. That was just the way he was. He did think he was better then everybody else, but what was wrong with that? "It's not like I'm self absorbed or anything," he thought. "Nessa doesn't have the right to judge me like that," Spot went on in the little battle inside his head. "She doesn't know me that well." "Oh but she does," the other little voice in Spot's head replied. "She has been best friends with you since you were five. She knows you better then anybody. Even your own mother." "So?" Spot argued to himself. "That doesn't give her the right to call me all those names. I didn't do anything wrong. Laura's the one who agreed to go out with me. And if she really loved Mush, she _wouldn't _have gone out with me. So I just proved that their relationship is failing. I did them a favor. Laura and Mush should be thanking me."

"Spot, that's the stupidest thing I ever heard."

"Shut up, voice inside my head!" Spot screamed out loud.

"That wasn't the voices inside your head, Spot. That was me, Straw."

"Oh, hey Straw. Uh………How long have you been standing there?"

Straw sat down on the ground next to him. "Long enough to know that you have serious problems with talking to yourself," she replied with the trace of a smile.

"Uh, this is awkward."

"Don't worry, about it Spot. I talk to myself all the time. It helps me figure things out. And I already knew that you talked to yourself. We've been friends since we were five, remember?"

"Can I ask you a question, Nessa?"

"Shoot."

"If I'm always so horrible to you, and you always get mad at me, how come you always forgive me?"

"Well, I guess it's because I like you, Spot. And even though you're really stupid a lot of the time, and I get mad at you, I still can't imagine my life without you, and how boring it would be. So I always end up forgiving you, even though sometimes I think I shouldn't. It's what friends do."

"So do you think that means that Mush will forgive me?"

"Not a chance Spot."

Spot leaned his head on Nessa's shoulder. "I think that I might just be okay with that," he replied.


	7. Chapter 7

Laura stood just inside her doorway in disbelief. No way could he show up at a time like this. Not when she had just figured everything out. Not when she was sure about what she was going to do. Now she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure at all. "Uhhh….. Race? Do you mind if I ask you something?" Not waiting for a reply, Laura went right into it. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I came to see you."

"Well, obviously that must be part of it, but what's the rest of it?"

"I dumped Cassandra."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You didn't let me finish. I dumped Cassandra…………………because I'm still in love with you."

"What?" Laura asked, completely dumfounded. Not another one. "God!" she thought. "I sound so conceited!" Out loud, she said, "Race. I can't handle this right now. I just decided that Mush is gonna be the love of my life, and then you come along and…………your just messing everything up!"

"You're going out with Mush? No way. This is just too freaky. You were going out with Tom. Mush was going out with Cassandra. Then you decided to go out with me, then I decided to go out with Cassandra. Now your going out with Mush, I'm here telling you I love you, and Cassandra's probably here telling Mush she loves him, just to make it interesting, though I doubt it. She's not that stupid to try and get Mush back. All we need now is for Tom to show up saying that he still loves you and we can truly have the weirdest lives ever."

Someone knocked on the door.

Race and Laura turned to look at each other. "Oh shit." They said at the same time.

* * *

Spot and Nessa woke up to find that they were still sitting in the same position as the night before. And that they were really, really, sore.

"Jesus, Straw, why they fuck didn't we go inside the house? Then my back wouldn't be hurting this much," sometimes Spot enjoyed stating the obvious.

"I guess we were just too tired?" Nessa lied. She had woken up a few times during the night and each time she had debated about whether she should wake Spot up and tell him to go inside and that she should go home or just continue letting him sleep on her leg the entire night. The latter always won. What she didn't know was that Spot had thought the same thing the few times he had woken up in the night too.

"I guess I better go home," Nessa sighed. "My mom might be worried about me." She got up and started to walk the farmiliar path toward home when Spot grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Nessa. Don't go," he whispered. "I know this is going to sound weird, since I just recently got done telling you how I only like you as a friend, but after a lot of thinking, don't smile at me like I never think Straw."

"Okay Spot." she whispered.

"Anyway, after a lot of thinking, I realized that maybe I do like you as you know, more than a friend."

"I think I may like you as more then a friend too Spot. I think I may have liked you as more than a friend for a long time." Nessa smiled.

Spot wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her full on the lips. Nessa leaned into him and curled her fingers around his neck, kissing him right back. She then knew that she had never been so happy. And oddly enough, neither had Spot.

* * *

Mush waited in a bush outside Laura's house. He wanted to go in, he knew it, but he wasn't sure what he would say. She had really hurt him, so he didn't want her to think that she could just have him back after doing that to him. That wasn't fair to him. But he also knew that he really loved her and that he really wanted her back. And that scared him since when Cassandra had cheated on him he knew that he would never forgive her. No Laura had just done the same thing and he was willing to forgive her after what, less then 48 hours? What was he thinking? He realized that the only way he and Laura were ever going to work out was if he stopped talking to himself and started talking to her. He went to go knock on her door, but before he could get out of the bush, someone got to her door first. This someone that Mush did not know knocked on her door, and Laura answered it. Who was standing next to Laura? Race, of course. Just to make the whole thing worse.

"Tom." Laura breathed.

Mush wondered who she was talking to, then he realized that it must be the kid at the door. No, wait. Tom? Tom? The guy that Laura supposedly broke up with? The guy that she had cheated on with Race? What the fuck was he doing here?

Laura seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Mush. "Tom, what the fuck are you doing here?"

Mush stepped out of the bush. "Race and Tom, what the fuck are you doing here?"

"I love Laura," they said in unison. Race and Tom glared at each other.

Cassandra came running down the road from Mush's house. "I followed you here," she gasped.

"Cassandra, you need to get the fuck away from me." Mush spat.

"Cassandra! What the fuck are you doing here?" Race snarled.

"I could ask you the same question," Cassandra snarled right back.

Spot and Nessa showed up holding hands. "We wanted to see how you were doing, Laura," Spot said.

Laura stared. "Spot? Why are you and Nessa holding hands?"

"Why should that matter to you?" Spot asked coldly. "You love Mush right? Whatever. It doesn't even matter anymore. Cause I realized that I love Straw. What are all these people doing outside your house, Laura?"

"Could someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?" Mush shouted.

Everyone just stared at each other. No one knew what to say, because no one knew what the fuck was going on.


	8. Chapter 8

Tom turned to look at Laura. "I still love you Laura. And I just realized that if I never try to get you back, I never will get you back. And so that's why I'm here. To at least try and be the man you want me to be."

Race turned to look at Laura. "I love you Laura. As I was going out with Cassandra, I realized that she was nothing like you, and that there was only one person in the world for me. And that person is you.

Mush turned to look at Laura. "Laura, I'm really upset about what you did to me. But I love you anyway. And I'm willing to hear what you have to say for yourself. Since Spot obviously doesn't love you, it seems like your little date with him meant nothing. And that we might still have something. But I need to hear this from you."

"But I love you Mush!" shouted Cassandra.

Mush continued to stare at Laura as he said, "Shut up Cassandra."

"Whoa," said Spot and Nessa at the same time.

"You are one lucky girl Laura. All these guys love you. Now you just have to pick one," Nessa said.

"Lucky? You call me lucky? Lucky that I have to break two of these guys' hearts?" Laura cried.

"Laura, you were with me first. Just tell them that you choose me, because you loved me before you even met either of them," Tom said.

"But you left Tom for me, so you obviously love me more than Tom. And admit it, even after I broke up with you, you never stopped loving me," Race smirked.

"Laura, I know this must be hard for you, so I'm not going to say anything to influence your decision. There is no reason that you should choose me over these two guys. They are both great guys, in some ways. So you make the decision. I'll I'm asking is that you don't make it right now. Think about it," Mush said.

"Okay." Laura sighed, and slowly shut her door, pushing Race out onto her stoop with the others.

* * *

Race stared at Mush and Tom in disbelief. "You really think she's gonna choose one of you? You guys are complete idiots," he smirked.

"Race, shut your face before I make you shut it."

Everyone turned to look at the sound of the voice, because it was Cassandra who had said this, not Mush or Tom. Everyone had almost completely forgotten that she was there, since she hadn't said much except for the occasional "I love you Mush!" and the group had begun to tune that out.

"What are you talking about Cassandra? This has nothing to do with you. You should just go home," Race said, advancing towards her.

Cassandra did not back down. "It does have something to do with me. You broke up with Laura for me, then you broke up with me for Laura. Now you're just expecting her to take you back, and you're insulting these other guys. Well I've had it, Race. You are such a huge jerk." She started to back away, but changed her mind and instead slapped Race right across the face so hard that he staggered backwards, clutching his face in pain.

"What was that for?" he screamed, a huge red mark now covering the left side of his face.

"Wow, you really didn't listen to anything I just said, did you?" Cassandra laughed dryly and walked to the park across the street from Laura's house, sitting down on a bench.

"Ha, Race, she got you good!" yelled Spot.

"Shut the fuck up, Spot," Race mumbled.

* * *

Laura sat on her bed once again, not sure what she should do. She looked up as the door opened, and this time it was who she thought it would be. It was Seth.

"Boy troubles again Laura?" Seth asked, for once in a non teasing way.

"Yeah, I guess you could call them that."

"What happened this time?"

"Well, I finally decided that I loved Mush, right? And then Race shows up telling me that he dumped Cassandra and that he wants me back. And then Tom shows up saying that he still loves me too, and that he finally realized that he needs to chase after me if I'm ever going to want to be with him. Which is so sweet, by the way."

"Well, it seems pretty simple to me."

"Really?" Laura asked in doubtfully.

"Well if you look at this logically, Race would be out first. Just because he is scum. Then it seems like Tom would be out next, because you cheated on him so you obviously aren't in love with him. But you cheated on Mush too. So maybe the only one you really love is Race, since you didn't cheat on him, which sucks, since he is scum."

"Yeah. Everything you just said is why it is not simple at all," Laura sighed.

"Well, I know this sounds very cliché, but you just need to stop listening to logic and listen to your heart. That's the only way to solve this."

"Thanks Seth."

"Anytime."

Laura sat on her bed in silence for the next hour, just thinking about why she loved all three of the guys she had to choose from. Tom, because he was so sweet. Race, because he was so full of life, and Laura had always wanted to be more like him. Mush because he was also so sweet, and he made her laugh and feel good about herself whenever she was sad. But maybe Mush was just friend material? And maybe so was Tom? But maybe getting together with Race was a bad idea, because who was to say that he wouldn't cheat on her again? Since he was the only one she never cheated on, does this mean that he was the only one that she really loved? And why did Tom and Mush even want to get back with her? She cheated on them! Why didn't they just go find someone else to love? Then she and Race could be together. They deserved each other, since they were both cheaters. She didn't deserve Mush or Tom. But that didn't make her stop loving either of them.

* * *

Laura looked out her window to see Mush, Tom, and Race on her front step. Nessa and Spot were off to the side of her house, God only knows why they were still there. Cassandra was across the street in the park. Laura knew why she was there. To comfort the two guys who didn't get picked. Cassandra was a huge flirt, Laura thought.

She slowly opened her door, and as she did, six sets of eyes turned to look at her. It was very unnerving.

"Ummm, hi guys," Laura's voice shook when she spoke.

"Laura, don't sugar coat this. Just tell us."

"Okay. I came out here to tell you that…………… this isn't a bachelorette show, and I can't just come out here and hand one of you a rose and leave the others with nothing. I'm not gonna do that. I can't just say, I pick you. It doesn't seem right. So my answer is, I don't pick anyone."

"Laura! Just pick!" Race shouted.

"Yeah! Just pick!" Tom shouted.

"Its okay if you don't want to pick, Laura. I understand. It seems kind of weird to me too, so I'll just go," Mush shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Mush, wait!" Laura cried.

He turned around.

"You are the only one who understands why I had to do that. And that's why you are perfect for me. Will you please get back together with me?"

"First you have to explain……….." he pointed at Spot.

"Mush I swear, that meant nothing. It was a stupid thing to do, and I just wanted to prove that you were the one for me. But that was stupid. I didn't need to prove it. It was always right there, in front of my face. I love you, Mush."

Mush walked up to Laura so that they were nose to nose. "Even though that doesn't really make sense at all, I accept your apology. I love you, Laura."

And so they kissed, Tom and Race watching along in agony, Nessa shouting with happiness.

* * *

Tom, Race, and Cassandra walked home together. Well, nor really home, they were more wandering aimlessly, but since they had all just had their hearts broken, what do you expect?

"That sucked," Tom said.

"Yup," Race agreed.

"Yeah," Cassandra decided. "And why would Mush pick Laura over me? I mean, I can be kind of bratty, but on the other hand, I can be nice, and funny, and of course I'm beautiful."

"You are beautiful," Tom said sheepishly.

"You seem really nice, too Tom. And your cute," Cassandra smiled flirtatiously.

Tom blushed. "Uh, you wanna go to a bar or sumthin?" Tom asked quietly.

"Sure," Cassandra answered.

Tom put his arm around her shoulders, surprised at his own daring, and they began to walk away from Race.

"That's not fair! Everyone got someone but me! Even the cheaters! I cheated! But so did Laura! And she got someone! Why didn't I get someone! This isn't fair!"

Tom turned around, hearing what Race had said. "Well, you know what they say Race, all's fair in love and war."


End file.
